Shared Gondola Ride In Venice

My husband had a wonderful time!! It was a joyful experience! Our gondolier was friendly, cordial and polite! It was such fun!

Great experience! The shared boat ride was fun, went into the big canal and also into little waterways that are very quiet through Venice.

They left us hanging. We were 20 feet away at an actual gondola pickup spot, thinking that was the spot. We were then told at 5:15 ( the time of our appt) that we had to go 20 feet away at a different spot. We got there at 5:20 and nobody there. Then called and told we were too late and did not get our money back. We’ve spent loads of money at Viator over the years on vacations, never will use them again period.

Less than 20 min ride. Still had to wait in a line despite having to book a specific time. The route was a small loop with lots of gondola traffic and little scenic value.

The boatman was incredibly skilled. He was able to steer our boat expertly around many obstacles. My husband and I were lucky to get the very comfortable seats in the back of the gondola. The other couple was quite displeased to have to sit on small benches without backs for the ride. When she complained, the helper on shore told her, “I don’t make the gondolas or the rules, if you don’t like it, get off the boat.” This seemed to be the basic attitude of the folks associated with the tour. I was surprised. We spent over a week in Florence and around Tuscany and it’s the first time we encountered anyone who was less than kind and polite. For them, it’s only about making money. The trip itself was good. The gondolier was silent, but extremely skilled.

We had too many for a single gondola so we had to split up. My husband and I took one while our teens took a second. My husband and I had a great captain who pointed out interesting sights and was very kind. My kids had a very different experience. Their driver pulled the gondola parallel with his friends and they talked to each other the whole time. That may have been fine but their conversation consisted of insulting their customers and mocking each other’s passengers. My guess is they were assuming no one understood his Italian. Unfortunately, one of my kids understood Italian enough to translate his insults. Such a shame since my husband and I had a good driver. There are a lot of gondola companies in Venice, I can’t say I would chose this one again if we went back.

For the price I had expected a private gondola ride, not to be shepherded with a large group and filed onto a gondola with others who we didn’t know, without any explanation of the activity, or where it would end. The instructions for the meeting point were also unclear and several people were lost.

Some groups with same number of people as my group were able use the gondola for themselves…when everyone paid the same amount….

I loved the charming and traditional boat ride on the Gondola. I only wished that I had booked a longer ride. The views were spectacular of the open river and canals.

Finding location was very difficult. The organizer was very rude and uncooperative. The Gondola operator also wa totally not bothered. An unhappy experience though the ride was ok

My wife and I turned up at the arranged time and no know was there. I complained to Viator and they were not helpful at all refusing to give me a refund. I even sent pictures of my location, time and evidence to show the kiosk at the meeting point was locked with no one in sight. Luckily, my wife suggested we go the next day to find the local office. We couldn't find their office but went to the same meet up place and saw some tour operators that were the same as ours. We explained the situation to them and they were so helpful and put us in the next Gondola experience. We had such a lovely time and are so thankful to Andrei for putting us in the next ride. All i can say is if your experience is cancelled or they don't show up, try and go there the following day and the locals are far more helpful than any customer service they advise you to contact on the brochure. Thank you Andrei and the Gondola people.

Unfortunately, our plane was delayed and Tripadvisor would not help us as it was within 24hours. Will not be booking through them again. Not happy

Guide talked way too much. He was good but we paid to get in early and when he was done talking we were not early! The buildings were amazing. Wish my guide did not tell me so much. I was tired of all the info.

Would have loved to go under the Rialto Bridge? And the option for a longer ride. Otherwise, the ride was great!

The cheapest gondola ride you can get. It was a little disappointing as we had to walk about 7 minutes from the meeting point to where we boarded the gondola, and then most of the gondola ride we were experiencing "traffic jams" and waiting for the gondolas ahead of us to move. However, if you are looking for a classic Venice experience, it does the trick.

We couldn't get a hold of the tour person and we couldn't find them at the location. We were unable to do the tour.

Good visit to Venice, lovely experience on the Gondola through the streets of Venice. Had the experience with my family and it was very exciting for us all.

The weather was amazing but we had a short ride .I am not sure but the canals aren't that clean and charismatic only when it comes to the main river that it starts to feel good .

The Gondola ride was wonderful. It was a little confusing trying to find the meeting point however we found it in plenty of time. Great experience.

The gondola ride was just as it was described. Short, sweet and to the point. If you pay for a gondola without this tour, you will pay $90 for the 30 minute ride. We were able to use some of our Viator reward points to make this a little more affordable. While a gondola ride is an iconic experience you MUST do in Venice - it is not worth the money. If you can walk away from the experience and not be disappointed for not checking this off your bucket list, I would do that. I felt that it was necessary so I was willing to pay the money for it - however it really isn't that great. This tour did not provide any information what so ever about Venice. The tour guide did not share any details at all. Not really worth the time and money - however I still am glad I checked it off my list. I wouldn't do this again.

A must in Venice! I didn't book this days in advance and ended up regretting it as the available spots were limited with short notice, so I would recommend to book ahead of time.

Expected more. It was a beautiful ride however it was very short, no more than 20 min. Walked in large group over to gondola boarding area. Then it was like boarding a Disney ride. If you’re looking for a romantic gondola don’t book this. There are gondolas all over the city! And you can ride privately. When you book with this they try to fill the gondola which holds 5 people

Our gondaleer sang songs and gave some sightseeing tips. Great route as well. Pretty city, loved our breakfast and supper and walk around Venice.

It was fun and happy and a real experience, it was our first time on a gondola and Venice is the only place to do it.

This service neglects to tell you that out of the 40 minute trip, 30 mins is a walking tour through the narrow streets of Venice. Then the actual gondola ride is roughly 5 mins and the app to “guide” you about what you’re seeing doesn’t work and you don’t actually go past any of the things the say you’ll go past. This is the back alley water ways with nothing to see but old broken back buildings for 5 mins.

The tour stated it was a 30 minute Gondola ride. In truth it was about 13 minutes waiting while they checked everyone in and divided us into groups, while the actual ride lasted 17 minutes. We bought a night time ride from a separate company and paid less for a full 30 minutes.

We were told that you just have to do a Gondola ride while visiting Venice and they were right. It’s a must do and a very special experience. A memory for life

This booking was a joke. The ride lasted about 15 minutes, half of which were along the grand canal and then one loop through local canals and back. We spent more time waiting to board than we spent onboard.

Beautiful ride down different waterways (quiet and then grand canal). Our gondolier sang quietly and added to the experience.

This is something that you have to experience when in Venice. Not sure if booking a tour like this is necessary.

Excellent outstanding worth the money That’s all folks stop fishing for more printable compliments. Xxxxxxx

Apple Maps nor google maps could not find the address. We used both and it was our first day in Venice. We could not locate the tour because the address it sent us to was not at st marks square. We used the address given on our ticket. My granddaughter really wanted to go and I wanted to fulfill her wish. We had looked forward to it all day. I’m sure it was lovely but we didn’t get to go because gps works so badly in Venice.

Quick 30 minute ride. Gondeleer was smooth and handled the gondela well saw alot and really enjoyed this

If you are looking for a cost saving experience this will suit you. But I wish now that we had spent more on a more comfortable ride with a friendly guide who could tell us a little about the gondola, his job and the area we visited. We shared the gondola with a family of 3. Since we were the last in, we got the uncomfortable wooden seats. We weren't even together in the boat. It was awkward, hard on the back and knees and very uncomfortable. Instead of relaxing and enjoying the ride we were trying to hang on and get comfortable. They need every seat to be cushioned and facing front or back, not sideways. We were happy to see some of the back canals where it is quieter.

I spent over an hour trying to find the meeting spot. Never located it. Never went on the gondola ride. Had to buy another different one. Wasted too much time. And money.

Had a nice trip with Marco along the canals. We did the hour-long cruise and it was more than enough to get oriented to Venice, especially on a hot day. In fact we noticed a restaurant along the way and we stopped back there for lunch! Marco was very knowledgable and it was nice to have a private boat.

The tour is a typical 30 minutes gondola ride. This deal is about $7USD cheaper than what you pay a regular gondola ride but it’s a shared ride and at a specific time. It’s so easy to hop on a gondola anywhere at anytime that I don’t think it’s worth pre booking.

It was cool and the only Gondel Option we would buy because it's super expensive otherwise. But we are very disappointed since we didn't go through Canal Grande as promised (at least not noticeable), and the actual Gondel Tour was less than 30min...

To leave Venice without a gondola ride would be a shame. The ride is not cheap, but off the Canale Grande, the quarters of the old town can be admired. Try it, you will enjoy it.

Absolutely shocking squeezing 6 people on to a gondola and as it happens we was in the middle which meant you couldn’t see past the people in front and didn’t get the experience we paid for. Would not recommend this to anyone your basically better off paying £5 to buy a rubber dinghy than the £53 conveyor belt gondola

Our Gondola experience was great and less expensive than hiring a gondola separately for two on the day. We shared the gondola with 4 other tourists...but there was plenty of room. The meeting place outlined on the ticket is a bit tricky to find as there is no signage until the tour leader arrives with a flag/sign - a number of other companies use the same meeting place. But once we figured out which group was ours, everything went very smoothly and the trip was lovely.

We managed to book this tour as we were spending just 1 day in Venice. I read all the details and was aware that the gondola was going to be a shared one that holds 6 people. We were a party of 5. If you don't know, it is really easy to get lost in Venice. We put or GPS and headed towards the location stated on the Voucher. As we rushed thru the heavy streets, we arrived in what it seemed the location, there were lots of gondola tours and people getting in gondolas, so you would assume that that is the place. NO it is not, after asking around, no one would tell you where it is. I called the number in the voucher, after 1 minutes they finally picked up, the guy that picked up the phone just yelled at me THE GONDOLA IS LONG GONE! YOU SHOULD HAVE CALLED EARLIER, there is nothing I can do for you!I tried to explain and asked what alternatives did I had, and he just kept telling me that it is my fault, that is is clearly explained in the voucher, no refund, and hang up on me. I immediately called VIATOR, their wonderful customer service, they apologize and took ownership of the situation. They went above and beyond, and VIATOR were the ones who refunded me the Money. PLEASE don't get excited about he price point of this tour, I would recommend to spend a bit more and get a more respectful vendor for this tour. I went to Venice and I couldn't experience a Gondola ride!

We felt obligated to do a gondola ride in Venice. Big waste of time and money. First of all the way the gondola is set up is very uncomfortable. I did not end up sitting directly next to my wife. Also the gondola "driver" did not say one word on the trip. Don't think this is a tour as in they will point things out and explain them. It was not a tour, just an experience. If you are going to do a gondola tour I would recommend spending extra to do a private tour with a singer on board.

It was a great experience for our family! We arrived 20 minutes early and had no problem locating the meeting spot.

This gondola ride pretty much speaks for itself-a pleasant ride in a gondola. It is a good way to see Venice from the canals.

The ride was just as we imagined and some more. Organization was somewhat messy but at the end everything was perfect and the time on the ride was as promised.

The meeting point is hard to find. It says arrive 15 minutes early. We did. After 25 minutes, you are truly herded like cattle with approximately 80 to 100 other folks equally as irritated to a site at least a 6 minute walk away. Everyone has the same departure time. When you arrive at the actual canal, you wait in line for 20 more minutes. It's not a private ride, it is a group ride. It is advertised as a 40-minutes. It was 20 minutes tops. Down a canal, a left turn, and then down another short canal to de-board. Very disappointing. I would suggest booking a gondola through your hotel when you arrive.

The gondola ride was nice, but the driver told us to be quiet as soon as the ride started. We were talking and laughing and he said twice in Italian and English 'be quiet'! We were appalled!

Overall it was a fun activity with the kids. The meeting place was not clear and we waited 30 mins past the start time to get in the gondola. I was the start time were more staggered and the directions of where to meet were easier to understand. The staff was friendly and polite. the tour through the canals was enjoyable and fun experience to see different things that you don't see just walking.